January gardening middle Tennessee style

Admittedly, there isn’t a whole lot to do in our winter
garden, but when the mercury starting rising to a high of 60 yesterday in
middle Tennessee, I had to get out there and do something!

I started raking leaves out of the front flower beds again.
That was a nice little job, since we have several large pin Oaks and Maple
trees in our front yard. Actually, it was a good workout, even though I know I’ll
never win the battle of the leaves. Some
of the trees are already showing signs of new growth.

Next, I swept the front porch and noticed some new growth
coming up in my succulent.

I never over winter this plant, she prefers to live year
round on the front porch. She’ll be stunning by April again.

Since I had out the broom, I cleared the corner of the
flower bed that the rake never works in and swept the walkway.

I know this is another
thankless task as the leaves are just going to blow over it again and right back
into my flower beds, but it made me feel good knowing I’d done it.

After I’d raked and swept up, I had played a nice round of
pick up sticks. Some I walked to the burn pile, some I dragged, but I got them
there, working up a nice, healthy sweat along the way and loving the feel of
the warm sunshine on my face.

I couldn’t help but notice on my many trips back and forth
to a centralized spot in our vast back yard known as the burn pile, that our hedge
line was teaming with birds. I tried to
capture the birds playing, but after a few failed attempts, I gave up
stalking them and just stood and admired their beauty. It didn’t take much of a
walk along the fence line to find the bird’s lunch spot.

A few steps more and I was at our pond, which had lots of
air bubbles on the top, letting me know our frog population hasn’t diminished by
much in winter.

Standing there feeling the sun on my face, the wind lightly blowing
through the trees and bushes, the birds chatting at the berries, all was right
in my world. This gardening ladies soul saw and felt the New Year in the best
possible way.

I knew I might be tempting fate, because the weather man
assured us our warm weather wouldn’t last, but as I walked past the corner
where my heirloom Iris’ bed is, I took a peak to see if there was any signs of
life- and sure enough, there was Iris fronds staring back at me.

How
does your January garden look? What planting region do you live in? We are in a nice,
temperate 7. Don’t know your planting zone? Reading my post here can help you
find out. And hang in there, spring
begins in just 58 days!

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Tennessee is so pretty! I love how green everything gets in summer. It looks like you are off to a good start as spring is almost here. Our yard is a bit of a mess - I mean it's good enough to pass an HOA check, but really, it needs some TLC. The one shining point of our yard though is that our blackberry plants are starting to come back.

What a beautiful place to live!! I've been doing a bit of raking between snowfall when I can and just like you, using the burn pile and then using what's left there to fertilize prior to being able to plant. Can't wait for gardening season to start, which here is about April! :/

Thanks and yes, Tennessee is very green, almost year round. I'm sure you will whip your yard back into shape come spring time. Glad your blackberries are coming back too. I've got my fingers crossed that ours do well this year.

Reading this post made me feel good! Here, a few states north of you, I'd be happy with 40 :) I love seeing the plants popping out of the ground, and I will be SO ready when that happens here. Thank you for sharing!

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Hi, I'm Linda, a happy Nashville, TN, work at home mom (WAHM) of two teenage girls celebrating 18 years of working at home. I enjoy sharing my love of all things home and garden, organizing, WAHM Tips, family fun, quick and easy recipes. It takes a good plan to keep all our busy mom plates spinning and I'm here to help you with practical, can do tips and ideas while embracing imperfection!